Serious is the keyword for RKO 281: good story and formidable hero, glorious settings, effective musical score.... Serious but maybe somewhat solemn.
In all cases, reenactment of past events with substitute actors is always a difficult task, and RKO 281 is no exception. While showing the shooting of Citizen Kane (CK) - the basis of RKO 281 - was unavoidable, you just cannot have a fake Welles directing fake Agnes Moorehead or Everett Sloane with any credibility; an attempt to show a Joseph Cotten replacement for a very few seconds just left the impression of witnessing a REMAKE of CK. So they show the CK substitute players from behind or asides, for a very short time,.. and the relevant scenes have no life whatsoever:it is a pity, as most of the main players came from Welles' Mercury Theater, which should in other circumstances have resulted in lively ones instead. Showing Welles' s inventiveness was similarly difficult: feeble tries are made, first with a failed attempt of Welles to shoot a traveling along a steep-slanted railing; another is when he digs a hole in the set in order to get the right shooting angle. We were shown previously that famed Gregg Tolan had volunteered to handle the camera; but as CK was the beginning and end of his collaboration with Welles, it may have been no smooth sailing... but no use is made thereof either . As for Welles himself, Liev Schreiber tries hard, but fails to be convincing. I saw 'Ed Wood' very recently, and was astounded how the combination Vincent d'Onofrio/ Maurice LaMarche for Welles proved successful. Sure few plans were shot, with elaborate lighting..and the Tim Burton touch. Maybe it would not have been uniformly successful for a 100minute movie... but I can't help thinking that the result would have made RKO 281 a far more credible film .
In all cases, reenactment of past events with substitute actors is always a difficult task, and RKO 281 is no exception. While showing the shooting of Citizen Kane (CK) - the basis of RKO 281 - was unavoidable, you just cannot have a fake Welles directing fake Agnes Moorehead or Everett Sloane with any credibility; an attempt to show a Joseph Cotten replacement for a very few seconds just left the impression of witnessing a REMAKE of CK. So they show the CK substitute players from behind or asides, for a very short time,.. and the relevant scenes have no life whatsoever:it is a pity, as most of the main players came from Welles' Mercury Theater, which should in other circumstances have resulted in lively ones instead. Showing Welles' s inventiveness was similarly difficult: feeble tries are made, first with a failed attempt of Welles to shoot a traveling along a steep-slanted railing; another is when he digs a hole in the set in order to get the right shooting angle. We were shown previously that famed Gregg Tolan had volunteered to handle the camera; but as CK was the beginning and end of his collaboration with Welles, it may have been no smooth sailing... but no use is made thereof either . As for Welles himself, Liev Schreiber tries hard, but fails to be convincing. I saw 'Ed Wood' very recently, and was astounded how the combination Vincent d'Onofrio/ Maurice LaMarche for Welles proved successful. Sure few plans were shot, with elaborate lighting..and the Tim Burton touch. Maybe it would not have been uniformly successful for a 100minute movie... but I can't help thinking that the result would have made RKO 281 a far more credible film .
